


Secrets

by finereluctance



Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Genre: M/M, episode tag: S05E06, fear of being outed, outside perspective (omc)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-24
Updated: 2014-10-24
Packaged: 2018-02-22 11:43:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2506565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/finereluctance/pseuds/finereluctance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nick is nervous when they head out for the Erotica Boutique on Tropicana in pursuit of the blue paint killer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Secrets

***

 

Nick’s stomach dropped as they stared at the drawings on the big monitors. Grissom, Catherine, and Warrick all helped his thoughts along, tossing out comments and ideas, but Nick’s attention was fixed on the letters in the window. A font and letters he was all too familiar with, and he was about to admit it.  “I recognize the signage.”

 

Three pairs of eyes turned to look at him expectantly. He had to fess up, tell them what store was in the picture. There was a victim’s life at stake, but so was his entire personal life. Resigned, and with flushed cheeks, he shared the secret with them. “The Erotica Boutique on Tropicana.”

 

Raised eyebrows from all of them. Curiosity, confusion, and that weirdly expected look as if they knew something about him that they didn’t. Not quite judging, but amused.

 

“It’s distinctive, okay?” He tried to get the attention back to the case and off him, but the sly looks lingered as they packed up and prepared to head out.

 

Nick’s stomach was a roiling mess of nerves on the way to the boutique. He should have driven himself, because Warrick certainly wasn’t doing anything to help the situation. “So, go there often, Nick? If you recognize the sign and all…”

 

“Shut up, man. It’s not like you’ve never been to a sex shop.” Nick snapped and turned his attention out the window instead. For as often as he and Greg would swing through the Boutique for one thing or another, all of the employees knew them both. Most of them were cool, probably wouldn’t say anything if they saw him, and he had his fingers crossed that it would be the owner, Tom, who was working. Tom would never dream of outing him. If Jack was working, however, Nick was screwed. Jack was like a little puppy that had a huge crush on him, a fact Greg loved to tease him about whenever they went by the shop.

 

He let out a sigh of relief when they got to the scene and saw the van parked on the far end of the lot and Tom’s car parked near the building. His presence could go entirely unnoticed, if he was lucky.

 

They busted the van open and Nick’s stomach dropped again when they saw the dead girl. All his nerves about his private life being exposed were gone, he was there to work.  “I’ll take the van.”

 

***

 

Tom sat behind the counter and lazily flipped through a magazine while he watched Grissom look around the shop. People were funny creatures, and part of the reason Tom owned the Erotica Boutique was purely for the enjoyment of people watching. There were so many different reactions when people came in which told him more about the customer than talking to them ever could. This man, for example. He was unfazed by the displays, his eyes moving quickly over the shelves to find what he was looking for. He was confident, calm, secure in his body and his own desires.

 

Curious. Tom smirked when Grissom found the blow up dolls. He hadn’t expected that at all. “I would’ve picked you for a leather guy.”

 

“Has anyone bought one of these Coed Cheerleader Dolls in the last few days?” The criminologist held up one of the Chrissy dolls for an example.

 

“Most popular models are the latex love-'em-or-leave-'em cheapies for bachelor parties.

But in the midrange, Chrissy's not a bad choice.” Tom was curious where this line of questions was going to go.  Grissom was an interesting study in how serious and focused he was on this doll.

 

“Well, I'm more interested in the clientele than the merchandise. I'd like to take a look at your credit card receipts.”

 

Tom shook his head. “Sorry, can’t help you with that.” Grissom raised an eyebrow but said nothing, and Tom knew immediately that he’d gotten caught in his own trap. He saw Nicky arrive with the police and crime scene investigators outside and he wasn’t about to hand over those receipts.  Not without a court order, at the very least, because Nicky and his boytoy had bought quite the interesting array of things that weekend, and he knew the boys weren’t out at work. “I have the privacy of my customers to protect.”

 

Grissom seemed to accept that. He set the doll box back on the shelf and moved to the magazine rack, flipping through a few different ones. “Surveillance?”

 

Tom shook his head again. He wasn’t going to mention the one camera he had over the register, it was hidden well enough that no one was aware it was even there, but he had to keep an eye on the employees. He knew without watching the video that Nicky and Greg were both on there along with their purchases Sunday morning, Greg’s bouncy exuberance hanging off of Nick while they stood at the counter to pay. It was impossible to see them as anything but what they were, two men completely besotted with one another who really enjoyed sex and their private time. If any one one of their coworkers saw that video they would be outed for certain. “Bad for business.”

 

Suddenly Grissom’s body language changed. He was tense as he held up one of the comics to show him. “You know this artist?”

 

Tom nodded this time. It was dark material in that one, definitely not his cup of tea, but there was a niche for it and a half a dozen guys who came in for that particular comic each month. “Yeah, that is Zippy Tee.”

 

"You have an address for him?” That was a strangely pointed question, and a dumb one at that.

 

“Dude, I don't know where he lives.” He knows most of his repeat customers well, particularly well in the case of good customers like Nicky and Greg, but Zippy Tee gave him the creeps.

 

“How do you pay him?” Grissom’s questions were extremely specific and with the tension in his voice, Tom was sure he’d found whatever he’d been looking for when he came in.

 

“It's not the Louvre.” He waited half a beat for Grissom to get the joke. He didn’t. “It's the Love Boutique. Local guys get store credit.”  One of his best ideas ever, that one. Kept the niche folks happy without overloading him with tons of unnecessary cash tied up in overstocked inventory when he couldn’t sell it.

 

“Has he ever traded for a doll?”  

 

Tom thought about it a moment, trying to remember. He hadn’t been here the last time Zippy came in, but he’d settled the books later that night and saw the exchange written down on the log. “Yeah.”

 

Grissom approached the counter, and Tom finally set his magazine down. “Can you describe him for me?”

 

He shrugged in response. He tried not to notice Zippy as much as he did the other customers. Sure, it sounded awful even in his own head, but wasn’t that the way humans functioned? Attractive people, you notice every detail.  Creeps and others, you tried not to look too closely. “White guy. Brown hair. Little shorter than you. Average looking. Creeped the fuck out of one of my boys.”

 

“How so?” Grissom was interested again.

 

“Couldn’t tell you, Jack just said the guy freaked him out. That ought to be enough though, because Jack doesn’t get creeped out by anything. He’s one of those ‘I’ll try anything twice’ types.” Jack was a good kid, one of the best workers he’d ever had, so he was a bit protective of him because he wanted him to stick around. If that meant coming in when he got a text from Jack saying Zippy showed up, then he would drag his out of of bed or whatever warm body he was with and come in for a few minutes.

 

Up went the eyebrow again. “I thought the saying was ‘I’ll try anything once.’”

 

Tom smirked.  “It is, but then you try it a second time to make sure you didn’t like it the first time.”  That cracked a smile on Grissom’s face and Tom grinned to himself. Of course that would get the older man to smile.

 

“Thank you for your help. If you remember anything else, or if he comes in, please give me a call.” Grissom handed him a card that he pocketed.

 

He nodded towards the comic book. “Go ahead and take the comic, on the house.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Tom waited a few minutes behind the counter until Grissom had left the store. Only when he was certain the older man wasn’t coming back in did he go to the office and pull all of Nick and Greg’s credit card receipts from his files. He slipped them all into an envelope that was folded and placed in his pocket for safe keeping. He would leave it at home until the investigation closed up, just in case. There was no need for the two of them to be outed because some creep had left a dead girl in his parking lot.

 

After an hour, when it became obvious the police activity in his lot was going to kill business for the night, he turned the sign to ‘Closed’ and went outside for a smoke. It was a nice night so he was comfortable to lean against the wall and watch the CSI’s work methodically. He could see Nicky in and around the van, though he couldn’t tell what he was doing exactly, but it made him smile. Nick was happiest in control and when he knew exactly what he was doing and what was expected of him. Tom could tell he was secure in his job and his ability to do it. It always made him curious about the relationship dynamic between Nick and Greg. The first few times they’d come into the store Greg had been the one to show Nicky all the different toys. He’d suspected back then that Greg was a pushy bottom, but over the years he watched the relationship change and develop into something more. In recent months he’d begun to think that Greg had taken more dominance of their relationship and help his partner explore the receiving side of pleasure.

 

Whatever their relationship was in the bedroom, it worked well for them and looked good on both of them. Tom wasn’t one to believe in soulmates or any of that ridiculous sentimentality, but he had never seen two people more suited for one another. They balanced one another in ways that most people never found, and Tom would be the first to admit a little envy over their relationship.

 

He lost track of time while he stood out there and just watched, but eventually they wrapped up and the girl’s body was taken away by the coroner. The doors of the van closed, and only then did Nicky catch his eye. Tom could see Nick’s fear plainly in his eyes, terrified of his coworkers finding out. He just smiled reassuringly and shook his head. He had no intentions of ever outing his favorite couple.

 

***

 

It wasn’t until they were almost back to the lab that Nick finally relaxed. He knew Tom had covered for him with Grissom when he wouldn’t give up the credit card receipts, but with any luck they wouldn’t even need the warrant for the receipts since the comic book artist had got the doll in trade.

 

He should have expected Greg to find him when they got back, but he was still surprised when an arm reached out and dragged him into the locker room as he passed. “What is-?” he flailed for a moment before he stilled and leaned with his back against the door.  “Oh, G. Dammit, don’t do that to me.”

 

Greg’s nervous energy was cute. He was practically vibrating on the spot. “I heard you went to the shop… everything okay?”

 

Nick let out a breath and pulled Greg into a hug, holding him tightly as the younger man settled in against his chest. “Yeah, we’re safe. Tom was working… he wouldn’t give Gris the credit card receipts.”

 

Greg’s sigh of relief soothed the last of Nick’s nerves as they stayed there a moment longer. “Remind me to thank him after this case gets wrapped up.”

 

“We’ll both need to do that.” Nick squeezed him one last time before he let Greg go. “But right now there is work to do so we can close this case.”

 

Greg kissed him lightly as he left the locker room. “Then get to work!”


End file.
